• Sailing on the Blackwater Estuary
    Asia

    Sailing on the Blackwater Estuary

    08/16/2020 - By 

    When my friend told me we’d be spending the day on a barge near Maldon in Essex, I had visions of a genteel Rosie-and-Jim-style barge trip down a canal. I did wonder quite how we were not only going to fit 30 of us onto such a snug boat, but where on earth they’d serve us all afternoon tea. Much to my friend’s amusement, my fellow city-dwellers and I had quite the shock when we discovered the barge in question was actually a fairly large wooden sailing boat (unbeknown to us otherwise known as a barge). Maldon is a pretty,…

  • London: The Charterhouse
    Uk

    London: The Charterhouse

    01/29/2020 - By 

    Last Friday, the Charterhouse, near Smithfield Market in London, opened to visitors for the first time in its 700+ year history. I’d walked past the medieval manor many times when I lived in London, always dying to have a peek inside, so when I was in London yesterday, my friends and I decided it was time to have a look around. The Charterhouse dates back to the mid-14th century when the area was used as a burial ground for victims of the Black Death. In 1371, a Carthusian monastery was built on the site and it remained a monastery until…